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BANK ON IT: Food Bank For New York City's Blog

Need in New York City's Jewish community has grown over the years and Food Bank's network of nearly 40 Kosher agencies has stepped up to ensure that observant families have enough to eat. Together, we distributed 11.5 million Kosher meals last year.

With more than half a million Jewish New Yorkers living in or at the edges of poverty, the high cost of kosher foods makes it hard for many families to keep food on the table. Nathan Krasnovsky, executive director of the Jewish Community Council of the Rockaway Peninsula (JCCRP), one of Food Bank's member agencies, sees these struggles every day. "If people who keep kosher don't have food, they don't eat," he says.

That hard truth was even more evident after Hurricane Sandy, especially in the community JCCRP serves. "There is just one kosher supermarket in Far Rockaway, but it was forced to close because of damage from the storm," explains Krasnovsky. "It was a big deal because people couldn't get kosher food elsewhere." Fortunately, with deliveries of shelf stable kosher food from Food Bank, JCCRP was able to fulfill that need for observant residents.

Like other Food Bank charities across the city, JCCRP saw an increase in demand in the aftermath of Sandy that has remained high more than a year after the storm. "Many people who were 'making it' before the hurricane, aren't making it anymore," says Krasnovsky. "They are still trying to get back on their feet today." The uptick in clientele means that JCCRP and other agencies serving the Jewish Community will have more people coming to them this Passover season. But Food Bank and its network will be there to make sure that our Jewish neighbors have a plentiful Passover table.

If you'd like to help provide Kosher for Passover meals to struggling Jewish families in New York City, please visit foodbanknyc.org/Passover.